The present invention refers to an apparatus for connecting at least two rods, having a movable handle part for the advance of a wire clamp, and closing jaws which are adapted to bring the locking means of said wire clamp into engagement underneath the rods to be connected; the apparatus further has grabbing means adapted to twist the closed loop portion of the wire clamp situated above the rods to be connected, and one of said two closing jaws has a means for securing the engagement of said locking means by moving one shank of said wire clamp away from the other as soon as its locking means are engaged. Such an apparatus is known from WO 87/01753 of the applicants, and it is generally used for fastening reinforcing rods when erecting reinforced concrete constructions, the reinforcing rods usually lying one above the other in an orthogonal manner and being interconnected at their points of intersection. Moreover, a method for connecting at least two rods is explained in detail in that publication, wherein a wire clamp having locking means at the ends of its shanks is placed around the rods to be connected in such a manner that, as seen from the grabbing member, the locking means are brought into engagement with one another behind said rods, and wherein the closed wire clamp is seized by the grabbing means of the binding apparatus in front of the rods and twisted during a pulling movement.